Astronomy FAQ's

On this page are answers to a whole set of astronomy related
frequently asked questions.

Astronomical Frequently Asked Questions - What is the
difference between astronomy and astrology? How old is the
Universe? 3 How old is the Solar system? How far away is
the closest star? What is the largest planet in the Solar
system? What does the term light year refer to? How many
galaxies are there? What causes the seasons? What is the "Big
Bang"? Is there other life in the Universe"? How
big is our galaxy"? How many planets are there in the
solar system"?

Buying a star FAQ - This is the "Buying a Star"
FAQ (Frequently Asked Question list) originally from the
sci.astro.amateur newsgroup. Can I buy or name a star? Read
this for the real truth.

Frequently
Asked Questions About Radio Astronomy - Public awareness
of radio astronomy lags far behind that of its optical counterpart.
The vague image of huge dishes pointed at the sky is perhaps
the only connection that many people can make with this
new and and highly technology driven science. While, most
people can relate on some level to the intrigue of peering
through an eyepiece at some distant object, a bump on a
graph which might cause great excitement among radio astronomers,
does little to stir the public imagination. It is this general
lack of familiarity with radio astronomy that gives birth
to an array of extremely broad and often difficult to answer
questions. Some of those questions will be tackled here,
but it would behoove anyone who is new to this subject to
seek help at the local library for references which are
more in depth. Here is the List: How is radio astronomy
different from optical astronomy? What is a radiotelescope?
What do radio astronomers listen for? How are pictures made
from all this radio noise? What frequencies are used? How
much does a radiotelescope cost? Do I need to know electronics
to do amateur radio astronomy? What can I do with a small
radiotelescope? How do I build a radio observatory? How
do I set up a SETI observatory?